The New York Times Wants To Suppress Free Speech Of Other Corporations

The New York Times ran a lead editorial today entitled “The Court’s Blow to Democracy.” The object of its wrath was the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday upholding the First Amendment right of corporations to spend as they wish in candidate elections.

The logic of the decision would also apply to unions. In so doing, the Court struck down significant portions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance restrictions.

Congress must act immediately to limit the damage of this radical decision, which strikes at the heart of democracy.

As usual, the Times has stood logic on its head. The only way that Congress can reverse the Supreme Court’s constitutional decision is to initiate the constitutional amendment process – or, perhaps, to confirm more liberal judges to replace any Justice who voted for this decision and later leaves the bench.

More fundamentally, why should The New York Times Company, a publicly traded for-profit corporation, have complete sway to editorialize (and, for that matter, slant its news articles) for or against candidates as and when it chooses, but other companies are denied the same right? If freedom of speech of corporations can be curtailed because “companies are creations of the state that exist to make money,” as the Times argues, then freedom of the press should be governed by the same principle.